Baseball mitt



Nov. 17 1925- H. B. LATENA BASEBALL MITT Filed May 7; 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE/V 7'02 Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

- UNITED STATES 1,562,176 PATENT" m nu-3.

HARRY B. LATINA, on EAST sr. LOUIS, ILL'INOIs, ssrenon'ro' nAwLInesMAnU- FACTURING COMPANY, on ST. LOUIS, MISSQURI, A conronarron onIvussonm.

BASEBALL MIT'I.

Application filed May 7,

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY B. LATINA, a citizen of the United States,residing at East St. Louis, Illinois, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Baseball Mitts, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to baseball mitts of the kind that are used bycatchers and first basemen and which consists of a relatively thick padprovided on its back or rear side with a hand portion that comprisespockets for receiving the thumb and fingers of the users hand. 7 v v VIn the conventional baseball mitt the hand portion on the rear side ofthe pad is provided with an adjustable strap that extends transverselyof the users wrist so as to retain the mitt in operative position on theusers hand. Unless said wrist strap is fairly tight, there is greatdanger of the mitt dropping off or flying off the users handaccidentally at a time when such an accident might be the decidingfactor of a game of baseball, but many baseball playtightly in position,because it prevents the mitt from being thrown off ordroppedquicklyin-the event the user desires to have his hand free andunencumered by a mitt. The result is that the majority of baseball Iplayers adjust the wrist strap of the mitt in such a way that the mittcan be intention-. ally dropped quickly, .notwithstanding the fact thatthe loose adjustment of the wrist strap may result in the mitt droppingofl' accidentally at a critical point in the game.

The main object of my invention is to provide a baseball mitt which isconstructed in such a manner that it will be loose enough on the usershand to permit it to be dropped quickly or thrown off intentionally, butwill be combined with the users hand in such a way when the mitt is invuse that there is no danger of its dropping ofl' or being thrown offaccidentally.

' To this end I propose to provide the hand portion of a baseball mittwith one or more loops arranged in such a way that the thumb or a fingerof the users handw'ill project through same and exert suflicientpressure on said loop or loops to eliminate ers object to having themitt strapped p 1924. Seria1"No.711,6 11.

the possibility of the mitt dropping off accidentally, .even though thewrist strap is loose. 1

Another object of my, invention is to provide a baseball mitt in whichthe hand portion of the mitt is constructed in, sucha manner that the'hand of the user naturally assumes such a position, during theoperationof catching a ball, that the palm of the hand will be held slightlyspaced. away from the part of the mittagainst which a caught. ballstrikes, thereby 1 reducing the liability of the users palm beingbruised or injured when the mitt is used to, stop a'swift ball 3 thrownwith considerable force.

F igure 1 of the drawings is a perspective .view of a baseball mittconstructed in ac-' cordance with my invention. Figure 2 is aperspective view of the front piece ofthe hand portion of the mitt towhich the pad is laced.

Figure 3' is a perspective view of the mitt shown in Figure 1, withtheback piece of the hand portion broken away to show the thumb loop andsome of the finger stops or abutments,v a

1, Figure a is atop plan view ofthe front iece of the hand portion,illustratinghow."

the thumb and finger loops arepermanently connected to same; and vFigure 5 -is a top plan vview,partly broken away, of a mitt constructedin accordance with my invention and equipped with finger stops orabutments of slightly different construction from those used in themitt, illus5 trated in Figures 1;to 4.

In the drawings A designates a pad that forms the front sideof abaseball mitt and B, designates a piece of leather or other suitablematerial of the same outline assaid pad to which said pad is secured bya lacing 1 or in any other suitable manner. A 7

hand portion is arranged on the back or rear side of the pad A forreceiving the users hand, and While the particular details ofconstructionof said handportion are :im-f material so far as myinvention is concerned, it will i usually comprise a front piece, formedby-the piece B to which the padis laced, a back piece C that-comprisesthumb and, fingenportions, which are secured by stitches to thepiece Bin such awayas to v form pockets for the thumb and-fingers of theusershand, and an adjustable wrist;

strap D that extends transversely of the users wrist. In order toeliminate the possibility of the mitt dropping off accidentally when thewrist strap D is adjusted loose enough to permit the mitt to be droppedquickly or thrown off intentionally by a quick movement of the usersarm, I have .equipped the mitt with a thumb loop E through which theusers thumb projects, as shown'in Figure 2, when the mitt is in use.Said loop E is arranged inside of the thumb pocket of the hand portion,and notwithstanding the fact that said loop is large enough to permitthe users thumb to slip into and out of same easily, it constitutes afivery efiicient means for preventing the mitt from dropping offaccidentally, due to the fact that a slight contraction or flexing ofthe users thumb causes said loop to be gripped tightly enough to preventthe thumb from accidentally pulling out of same. In most instances themitt will be equipped with a similar loop ,F arranged inside of thepocket of the hand portion that receives the little finger of the usershand, so as to obtain a more perfect balance of the mitt on the usershand, but both of (said loops are not absolutely essential, al though itis preferable to construct the mitt in this way.

It is immaterial how the loops E and F are secured inside of the pocketsin which they are positioned, but I prefer to make said loops adjustableand form each loop from a strip of leather or other suitable materialthat is, permanently secured at one end by stitches 2 to the front pieceB of the hand portion, as shown in Figure 4, the strip from which theloop is formed being doubled .over, as shown in Figure 3, so as to formtop 'and bottom pieces joined together by a con- 'necting portionlocated at the inner end of the loop, the free end of the top pieceprojecting outwardly through a slot 3' in the back piece C of the handportion. Due to the fact that each of said loops, comprises a bottompiece, a top piece and a connecting.

portion for said top and bottom pieces disposed so that. the inner sideof the users thumb or little finger will naturally exert pressure onsaid connecting portion in the normal operation of using the mitt, thereis little liability of the mitt accidentally dropping off the usershand. In the mitt shown injFigures 1 to 4 the free ends of the loops Eand F are detachably connected to the front piece B of. the hand portionby conventional button snaps, and in order that the size of said loopsmay be varied, each loop is provided with a socket member 4 that 'isadapted to co-operate with a plurality of buttons 5 arranged differentdistances from the slot 3 in the back piece 0 of the hand 7 portionthrough which the free end of the loop extends. A loop or loops of thekind described adds greatly to the efliciency of a baseball mitt, asthey permit the writ strap of the mitt to be adjusted in a loosecondition without danger of the mitt dropping off accidentally at acritical time when such an accident might result in the winning orlosing of a game of baseball.

As previously stated, another object of my invention is to provide abaseball mitt which is so constructed that the palm of the users handwill be held spaced away slightly from the part of the mitt againstwhich a caught ball strike. This feature of my invention is separate andI distinct from the feature previously described, to wit, the loop orloops in the hand portion, and can be used independently of said loopsor in conjunction with same. I accomplish this desirable result byequipping certain'of the finger pockets of the hand portion with stopsor abutments G arranged far enough from the ends of said pockets to makeit necessary for the user to cup his hand by bending or contracting hisfingers during the operation of catching a ball. In the mitt shown inFigures 1 to i, inclusive, the finger stops or abutments G are formed bypieces of leather or other suitable material secured by stitches, or inany other way, to the front piece B of the hand portion of the mitt thetips of the users fingers can be pressed against same by bending orflexing the fingers sufficiently to cup the hand. The main function ofthe finger stops or abutments G is to insure the user cupping his handsufficiently to hold the palm away from the portion of the mitt againstwhich a caught, ball strikes, thus eliminating the possibility of theusers palm being bruised, but said finger stops or abutments also insurethe users fingers obtaining such a firm grip or hold on the mitt thatthe user has perfect control of the mitt.- Preferably, the upper ends ofthe pieces of leather that constitute the finger stops G are doubled orfolded over, as shown more clearly in Figure 4,. so as to producemembers in the finger.

of the mitt shown in Figures 1 to 4, but

equipped with finger stops or abutments of slightly differentconstruction. The pockets that receive the thumb and little finger ofthe users hand are provided with loops E and F of the kind previouslydescribed and the three finger pockets, arranged between the thumbpocket and little finger pocket are equipped with finger stops orabutments 'erates with a plurality of spaced formed by a member G thatextends transversely of said finger pockets and which is arranged'farenough away from the ends of said pockets to insure the users handassuming a cupped condition when the tips of the fingers are pressedagainst said member G. Preferably, the member G consists of a strip ofleather or other suitable material permanently connected at one end bystitches, or in any other suitable way, to the front piece B of the handportion adjacent the little finger pocket and laced through slits 6 inthe other three finger pockets of the hand portion, the free end of saidstrip being detachably and adjustably connected to the front piece B ofthe hand portion either by a buckle or by a socket member 7 on saidstrip that coopbuttons 7 on the front piece B of the hand portion of themitt. The member Gr transversely of the finger pockets, as shown inFigure 5, and when the mitt is in use, the tips of the users fingers aredrawn downwardly into engagement with said member, thereby enabling theuser to obtain a firm grip or hold on the mitt an'd insuring the palm ofthe users hand being spaced slightly away from the pad on the front sideof the mitt.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion combined with said pad, and loops in saidhandportion through which the thumb and little finger of the users handare adapted to be inserted each of said loops comprising a top piece, abottom piece and a connecting portion for joining said pieces disposedso that the part of the users hand positioned in the loop will naturallyexert pressure on said connecting portion when the mitt is in use. I

2. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back side of said pad provided withpockets for receiving the thumb and fingers of the users hand, and loopsin the thumb and little finger pockets, for the purpose described.

3. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back side of said pad provided withpockets for receiving the thumb and fingers of the users hand, loops inthe thumb and little finger pockets, for the purpose described, andmeans for enabling said loops to be adjusted.

4. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad formed by a frontpiece to which the pad is detachably connected and a back piece providedextends pockets, and loops in the thumb pocket and littlefinger pocket,each provided with a top piece, a bottom-piece and a. connecting portionon which the part of the users hand' surroundedby the loop, naturallyexerts pressure in a way to prevent the mittfrom accidentally droppingoff thehand. 1 H

5. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad formed by a frontpiece to which the pad is detachably connected and a back piece providedwith a plurality of pockets, and loops in some of said pockets formedfrom strips of material permanently connected at one end witha-plurality of to the front piece of the hand portion and arranged withtheir free ends projecting outwardly through slots in the back piece' ofthe hand portion. 6. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutesthe front portion of the mitt, a

hand portion on the back of said pad formed by a front piece to whichthe pad is detachably connected and a back piece provided with aplurality of pockets, loops in some of said pockets formed from stripsof material permanently connected at one end to the front piece of thehand portion and arranged with their free ends projecting outwardlythrough slots in the back piece of the hand portion, and means foradjustably securing the free ends of said s rips to the front piece ofthe hand portion.

7. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad provided withpockets for receiving the thumb and fingers of the users hand, loops inthe thumb pocket and little finger pocket, .and means arranged in someof the finger pockets against which the tips of the users fingers areadapted to be pressed so as to hold the users hand in a cuppedcondition.

8. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof the mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad provided with fingerpockets, and a transversely-disposed member laced through slots in saidpockets and adapted to serve as stops or abutments against which thetips of the users fingers are pressed when the glove is in use.

9. A baseball mitt, comprising a pad that constitutes the front portionof a mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad provided with fingerpockets, a transverselydisposed abutment member laced through slits insome of said pockets and having one of its ends, permanently connectedto the hand, portion of the mitt, and means for adj ustably securing theother end of said member to the hand portion of the mitt, said abutmentmember being arranged under the users fingers and disposed so as tocause the users hand to assume a cupped condition When the tips of thefingers are pressed against said member.

10. A baseball mitt comprising a pad that 5 constitutes the frontportion of the mitt, a hand portion on the back of said pad providedwith finger pockets and a thumb pocket loops in the thumb pocket and thelittle finger pocket, and an abutment mem ber arranged transversely bythe pockets intermediate the thumb and little finger pocket againstwhich the tips. of the users lingers are adapted to. be pressed duringthe operation of catching a ball.

HARRY B. LATINA.

